sorry guys - but what does perimenopausal mean?

So...........
I am so freaking hot all of the sudden........like sweating burning up hot. Today at work, I thought I was just going to die. Granted it was muggy outside, and I had a long sleeved shirt on - but still - it was an intense heat - like I am gonna rip this shirt right off of my body heat.

And I am beyond depressed as mentioned in my other post - in a way I have not previously been. Then again, this year has been hades in terms of "events of distress".

So how do you know when you are entering menopause?
I am 41, it seems a bit early.

Well since you asked, I googled it and apparently, it is what I am....

Perimenopause (premenopause)
Perimenopause is the phase before menopause actually takes place, when ovarian hormone production is declining and fluctuating, causing a host of symptoms.

Some clinicians maintain that perimenopause can last for as long as 5 to 15 years, while others refer to perimenopause as that period which is a 3 to 4 year span just before menopause. Either way, many women experience more symptoms during perimenopause than after menopause. Because this often happens at an age between 35 and 45, many women's symptoms are overlooked or ignored by their healthcare providers.

Most premenopausal women experience changes in their menstrual cycle. When estrogen levels begin to drop, the follicular phase of the cycle may be shortened, and this can shorten the total cycle from 2830 days to 2426 days, resulting in more frequent periods. On the other hand, some women begin having longer cycles because they are not ovulating as frequently. These changes can be quite different on an individual basis. Additionally, this declining/fluctuating estrogen level can produce a host of disturbing symptoms: hot flashes, increasing vaginal dryness, sleep problems, mood swings, breast tenderness and many other complications.

I forgot to add im perimenopausal said my dr. yea, yea, yea!! He said the hottness I often feel during the night or during day suddenly. also there has been a definite change in my cycle as well and i'm nasty

But Jennifer, Sleeplessness comes with motherhood and irratibility comes with sleeplessness. Does that mean we all started when we became mothers and it worsened as our kids became older teenagers out every night?

Nasty - I am so glad that is a symptom. I thought it was just me. Good to know I can't help it.

To me paramenapausal means the happy horizons ahead but it can get messy.
I always looked forward to hot flashes because typically I like the heat. For me and my fluctuating horomones, however, there was this one man I was not even involved with who gave me hot flashes...swollen breasts...and it was not cute. Just pass him on the road..or (oh not) in a store.
I would get all red, hot sweaty it was absolutely embarassing. Accept I never mentioned it to anyone....but honestly those were the only hot flashes I ever did get. And I am on the other side of that stage and that is the good news!
For me it is so much better over here on the other side of the change. Sure my hair is grey and my I am practically invisible to men...but its smooth. No big
dips during the month...no tense emotional...I'm thinking this is alot better than anyone let on to me.

Count me in the club, too. My aunt went through it at 29. My sister at 39 - same thing for me. My mom says hers has been going on for years! LOL! We all came down with extreme anxiety. Mostly the inability to stop the brain from thinking thoughts that were ridiculous.

Yes, Steely - you could be experiencing some things that are related to hormone fluctuations. It can make things a whole lot harder to deal with. You have my empathy.

My doctor put me on low dose combination hormones to control bleeding and while it only helped that problem for a year or so, it did greatly relieve the other symptoms. Hot flashes, moodiness, skin outbreaks (yes, at 47 I have pimples again), etc were all diminished. I had to stop due to blood pressure otherwise I'd still be on them.

I made plenty of negative comments through my adult life about the inconvenience of my body's hormones but now they're pulling out and heading south I sure do miss them.

hmmmm..........interesting.
can a dr diagnosis it?
it is hard for me to assess, because i am always irritable, cranky, and sleepless
i have been feeling under the weather physically - but no fever - just burning up hot sometimes.
gosh, maybe it started when i was 29 which could explain everything. lol.

Wow...........I just read up on it........and a light bulb went off. I think I have been experiencing this for awhile, but I did not realize it until this hot thing started happening which is more of a hallmark of pre-menopause. The other thing that has coincided with the heat is my skin feels like it is burning and dry which is I guess another symptom. Yesterday at work I was walking around literally just wanting to rip my shirt & skin, I felt so hot and miserable...........(I know, bad visual).

I guess I should go to my gyn-dr...........geesh.The Symptoms of Peri-Menopause

WHAT DID YOU ASK ME THAT FOR?????? UGH
OH I am so so sorry (cry) I'm sorry I just don't know why
DID YOU ASK ME SOMETHING???? UGH GET A DICTIONARY...
OH I am so sorry that was just so mean, I don't mean to be ugly
OMG IS IT HOT IN HERE OR DID YOU set UP OFFICE IN A FREAKIN OVEN
.....I need a kleenex.....I don't.....even...know.....why I'm,,,,crying over dog food.....omg look, look at the air freshener...

IF ONE MORE ILL MANNERED CHILD RUNS BY ME IN WALMART I AM STICKING MY FOOT OUT......WHOLEY COW IS IT HOT IN HERE OR IS IT JUST ME?

ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME YOU HORRID HAG? DON"T you have something better to.....

OMG THE HEAT IS LIKE I'M GOING TO SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUST....

NO MORE BABIES?????? BABIES////OMG......bawls..........OMG
if I had a baby it would cook like a turkey I am SO GOD AWFUL HOT.....

ICE - I need ICE......
OMG you have GOT to be kidding a period NOW? HERE....with white pants on? OH COME ON - NOTHING FOR MONTHS AND NOW??? NOW? REALLY??? GRRRRRRR.....
I remember (sniff the time we went out in the snow with my BABY)

PEOPLE WILL DIE BODIES WILL BE HIDDEN....
OMG get me a kleenex........here comes the water works again -